As computer network related technology has become faster and cheaper, higher performance computer networks have spread rapidly. One common example of a high performance computer network is a broadband network distributed amongst a grouping of consumers used for Internet access. One typical type of a broadband network is a cable-based Internet provider, such as those provided by television cable companies. Cable networks provide affordable, high speed Internet to anyone hardwired to a cable television network. Another typical broadband network is a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) network, such as those provided by telephone providers. Similar to a cable network, a DSL network utilizes existing phone lines to offer a high speed alternative to dial-up Internet access. A third, newer type of broadband network is a wireless broadband network such as those provided by wireless telephone companies. A user accesses these networks by integrating a wireless broadband network card into their computer for receiving broadband network signals.
While broadband networks provide many benefits to users, such as the aforementioned high speed and low cost, several drawbacks are common. One such drawback is that on a typical broadband network, all consumer or end user devices are connected to a master administrator via a physical layer (PHY) device at the master administrator. For example, on a typical cable network, each customer is connected to a master administrator by a PHY device. Essentially, each PHY device functions as a port used for accessing the network by a client device. Each PHY device is connected to control circuitry of the master administrator via a shared bus. Any information sent to an individual PHY device is sent along this shared bus. If a target PHY device has low or no bandwidth available when a message is sent, then the message cannot be received and must be resent, effectively wasting buss time as no other PHY device can communicate while the bus is sending a message to another PHY device.
One solution to monitoring the bandwidth at each PHY device is a technique involving constant monitoring of the available bandwidth at each PHY device such that no transmissions are sent to a PHY device that is currently unable to receive data. This is done by a master administrator that constantly polls (or sends signals to a device and monitors the device's response) all PHY devices. However, this is resource and time consuming at the master administrator as the master administrator is generally required to constantly poll PHY devices. This technique also wastes bandwidth on the bus as polling each device requires additional time utilizing the bus. While overall this technique achieves the desired goal of monitoring the bandwidth of each available device, the technique necessitates an inefficient use of resources available in the master administrator.
What is needed is a technique that utilizes dynamic polling monitored and refined over a period of time such that the typical available bandwidth of a PHY device can be monitored and utilized to create a schedule. This schedule can be used for transmitting data to a PHY device at times when the device is highly likely to be able to receive a transmission.